[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 226 (Monday, November 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69849-69850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27721]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the FTC is seeking public comments on its request to OMB for a three-
year extension of the Trade Regulation Rule entitled Labeling and 
Advertising of Home Insulation (R-value Rule or Rule). That clearance 
expires on December 31, 2014.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``R-value Rule: FTC File 
No. R811001'' on your comment, and file your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/rvaluerulepra2 by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment 
on paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, 
Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection 
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to 
Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Mail Code CC-9528, 600 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2889.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: R-value Rule, 16 CFR part 460.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0109.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The R-value Rule establishes uniform standards for the 
substantiation and disclosure of accurate, material product information 
about the thermal performance characteristics of home insulation 
products. The R-value of an insulation signifies the insulation's 
degree of resistance to the flow of heat. This information tells 
consumers how well a product is likely to perform as an insulator and 
allows consumers to determine whether the cost of the insulation is 
justified.
    On August 13, 2014, the Commission sought comment on the 
information collection requirements in the R-value Rule. 79 FR 47461. 
No comments were received. The Commission did receive one non-germane 
filing that we have referred to the agency's Consumer Response Center 
for further action. As required by OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, 
the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment.
    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 129,656 hours.
    Likely Respondents and Estimated Burden:
    Installation manufacturers, installers, new home builders/sellers, 
dealers and retailers.
    (a) Installation manufacturers.
     Testing by installation manufacturers--15 new products/
year x 2 hours each = 30 hours; and
     Disclosures by installation manufacturers--[(144 
manufacturers x 20 hours) + (6 largest manufacturers x 80 hours each] = 
3,360 hours.
     Recordkeeping by installation manufacturers--150 
manufacturers x 1 hour each = 150 hours.
    (b) Installers.
     Disclosures by retrofit installers (manufacturer's 
insulation fact sheet)--2 million retrofit installations/year x 2 
minutes each = 66,667 hours.
     Disclosures by installers (advertising)--1,615 installers 
x 1 hour each = 1,615 hours.
     Recordkeeping by installers--1,615 installers x 5 minutes 
each = 134 hours.
    (c) New home builders/sellers, dealers.
     Disclosures by new home sellers--924,000 new home sales/
year x 30 seconds each = 7,700 hours.
    (d) Retailers.
     Disclosures by retailers--[25,000 retailers x 1 hour each 
(fact sheets) + 25,000 retailers x 1 hour each (advertising disclosure) 
= 50,000 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Periodic.
    Total Annual Labor Cost: $2,571,000 per year (solely related to 
labor costs and rounded to the nearest thousand) [approximately $810 
for testing, based on 30 hours for manufacturers (30 hours x $27 per 
hour for skilled technical personnel); $3,976 for manufacturers' and 
installers' compliance with the Rule's recordkeeping requirements, 
based on 284 hours (284 hours x $14 per hour for clerical personnel); 
$47,040 for manufacturers' compliance with third- party disclosure 
requirements, based on 3,360 hours (3,360 hours x $14 per hour for 
clerical personnel); and $2,519,640 for disclosure compliance by 
installers, new home sellers, and retailers (125,982 hours x $20 per 
hour for sales persons).]

Request for Comments

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before December 24, 
2014. Write ``R-value Rule: FTC File No. R811001'' on

[[Page 69850]]

your comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the 
extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the 
Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from 
comments before placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as anyone's Social Security 
number, date of birth, driver's license number or other state 
identification number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, 
financial account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which is . . . privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section 
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you are required to follow the procedure 
explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest.
    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comment online, or to send it to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/rvaluerulepra2, by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you also 
may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``R-value Rule: FTC File 
No. R811001'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver 
it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 
20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by 
courier or overnight service.
    The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit 
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before December 24, 
2014. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted 
by the Privacy Act, in the Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm.
    Comments on the information collection requirements subject to 
review under the PRA should also be submitted to OMB. If sent by U.S. 
mail, address comments to: Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Federal Trade Commission, New Executive Office Building, Docket 
Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503. 
Comments sent to OMB by U.S. postal mail, however, are subject to 
delays due to heightened security precautions. Thus, comments instead 
should be sent by facsimile to (202) 395-5167.

David C. Shonka,
Principal Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-27721 Filed 11-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P